Poems and Stories for Autumn.

(For Helen X, c 1910-1967, who died of throat cancer) In Chinese medicine plum stone throat describes the feeling of a plum stone stuck at the top of the back of the throat. It is associated with stagnation of liver energy (liver chi). The liver is said to control the flow of emotions. Plum stone […]

Corn Dollies ‘Corn dollies, made from the last sheaf of corn, go back thousands of years.‘ Dressed in Edwardian attire, complete with straw boater I was attending a Mayday celebration. I watched a man working straw into intricate designs. He smiled, ‘I know just what your hat needs.’ Taking a long piece of straw, heads intact, […]

‘Ancient Chinese philosophy says humans should live in harmony with the natural cycles of their environment.’ A preparation for winter, a time to reflect and organize your life, a time to pay attention to the lungs and large intestine, for they deal with the process of purification and elimination. The lungs take in oxygen. We […]

‘Autumn’ in the broadest sense. It is how Indian widows had to undergo a ritual in olden days to give up all their ornaments, even the red dot on their forehead wear only white. Life stopped if their husbands passed away. Vermillion Leaves fall down, blown away in the autumnal blitz Gold strewn paths crunch and crackle underfoot A […]